


i don't wanna say it, but maybe it was fate

by elsironwing



Category: Iron Fist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, I only know how to title things with song lyrics, Marriage Proposal, Season 2 AU Ending, danny and colleen being Soft, spoilers all the spoilers my notes are not spoiler free, the ending that should have been, the season 2 writers can eff off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 22:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15958433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsironwing/pseuds/elsironwing
Summary: an Iron Fist S2 alternative ending in two parts- chapter 1 set directly at the ending of it- chapter 2 set six months later





	1. one - colleen pov

**Author's Note:**

> spoilers spoilers spoilers
> 
> so basically the iron fist writers can fuck off. This is how I'm dealing with season 2. Really all you need to know about this is that a) colleen does not have the iron fist, b) they stayed supportive the whole time, and c) danny doesn't leave. All I wanted was to see them stay soft but no. 
> 
> This first chapter is Colleen's perspective, set right at the end of (my ending) of season 2!

“I doesn’t feel real,” Danny says, shaking his head a little as he watches the car drive off with Davos inside. 

Colleen rubs at her temple before pushing her hair out of her face, sighing, looking down at the ground.  _ Unreal _ is a good way to describe it, to describe the past weeks,  _ everything _ . “No, it doesn’t. But it’s over, now.”  _ Finally _ . 

He turns to face her, giving her a quick look over with a concerned expression. “Are you hurt?” 

“Yes, but it’s nothing life threatening that can’t be handled at home,” she replies, trying not to think about the blood on her clothes or the cuts on her body or the headache that she can already tell is coming on, starting to throb at the back of her head. She’s exhausted - mentally, physically, and emotionally - and all she wants to do is go home and sleep for several days. 

“Okay.” he hesitates, not quite meeting her eyes for a moment. “I’m going to head home, start cleaning up the apartment. Are you coming?” he asks, and she  _ hates _ that there’s an uncomfortable tension between them still, hates the hesitation in the way he asks and the way he’s watching her, the way he almost moves to reach out for her but stops himself, like he thinks he’s not allowed to. Her heart  _ aches _ , noticing all of these things. 

“I think I’m going to go back to the center first, make sure everything is okay there. I’ll meet you back there, though.” she moves to leave, then, not sure if she can handle meeting his eyes again. There’s things she wants to say, but the words aren’t coming, and she’s torn between just walking away for a minute or hugging him. 

“Hey,” Danny says, and she feels his fingers at her wrist, though he doesn’t grab it, so she turns her hand to hook her fingers with his and looks back at him. He reaches out to cup her face and she lets him, stepping just a bit closer when he slowly leans down to kiss her. She tips her head back just a little to accept the kiss, lingering for a moment before he pulls back. He’s giving her a sad sort of look, and it’s the first time she really sees how  _ exhausted _ he is. 

“I’ll see you soon.” he says.   
  


 

\---

 

Danny worked much faster than she expected, so when she gets back to the apartment, almost everything is already picked up and back where it belongs. There’s only a few odd things here and there that will have to be put back, but nothing that needs to be dealt with immediately. It’s  _ almost _ as if nothing had even happened there. 

He, however, isn’t anywhere in the main room, so she pushes back the itch of anxiety and heads for the bedroom to look for him. She’s just stepped through the doorway when she hears the sound of the shower running, and she lets out a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. 

She takes her shoes off and tiredly strips off her bloody clothes, biting back a groan at the movements, dropping all of it into a pile to be dealt with later. There’s blood on her arms and on her skin where it had soaked through her clothes, and it’s a miserable sort of sticky feeling, so she heads for the bathroom. 

“It’s me, Danny,” she says, in case he hadn’t heard the door open over the sound of the water. She strips out of the rest of her clothes and opens the shower door to step inside, and Danny immediately moves back out of the way so she has room to stand under the water. The heat of it stings where it hits the various cuts across her body, and for a moment the water going down the drain is red. 

A quick glance at Danny confirms that he’s got plenty of wounds of his own, likely more than her, including a particularly nasty one on his left thigh. She reaches out for him briefly, resting a hand on his shoulder for a moment before he looks over at her. 

“You okay? That cut doesn’t look good.” 

“That’s the worst of them,” he says, knowing immediately which one she means even though he’s returned to washing his hair, not entirely paying attention. “I’ll get to it in a few minutes.” 

She nods, putting her entire focus into washing off the blood and washing her hair. The hot water is both painful and good, soothing on her tired muscles. Even though he finishes up before her, Danny waits the extra couple minutes in the shower with her that it takes for her to finish up, which while unnecessary, she does appreciate, especially when he carefully helps clean off the area around a cut on her back she couldn’t get to.

He gets out first and passes her a towel when she follows him out. 

She’s hit, then, by a rush of exhaustion and resists the urge to lean back against the shower door. Instead, she makes quick work of drying off before following Danny back into the bedroom, where he’s already got the first aid kit open on the bed. She finds a pair of sweatpants to put on, biting back a curse at the movements and the soreness of her body, but leaves her shirt off so that her wound can be taken care of. 

“Let me do yours, first?” Danny asks, and she just nods, because trying to argue with that is pointless, sitting down on the bed in front of him and pulling her hair up out of the way. 

“None of them should need stitches,” he says, and she feels his fingers running lightly across her back near one of the cuts, before he grabs a bandage. He’s gentle as he works on covering the few on her back and sides, and the one on her arm, before he asks her to turn back around so he can check the one on her face. 

He cleans that one up more, always so gentle, but apparently decides it doesn’t need to be covered. She’s about to move to grab her shirt when Danny gently cups her face, running his thumb lightly over the slight bruising there, watching her with a look that’s both overwhelmingly tender but also sad. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, sighing, running his fingers gently down to where there’s similar bruising on her neck. 

“Davos did that, not you,  _ not your fault _ .” she points out. 

“I dragged you into this fight, so yeah, it is,” he replies, passing her the shirt without her even having to ask. 

“Yeah, well, that’s our life.” She quickly pulls her shirt on and then reaches out to tug the first aid kit closer to her. “Like you said a while ago - the fight found me.” He doesn’t reply, just frowns, and she puts her focus into the cut on his thigh instead, which looks even worse now that she’s getting a closer look at it. She pushes the edge of his boxers out of the way to see the full wound, quickly determining that this is definitely one that will need stitches. 

Danny stays quiet while she tugs on gloves and starts to work on the cut, only tensing up briefly when she starts the first stitch. She’s gotten much better at stitching up wounds since Danny started going out at nights, so she’s quicker and efficient and has the wound finished up in a few minutes. Thankfully none of the others need stitches, so she just covers the ones that need it. 

She removes the gloves and starts to repack the first aid kit while Danny finds sweatpants to put on, moving the kit to sit on the floor at the end of the bed. Danny has moved to sit in a chair near the bed, across from her. When she sits back on the bed facing him, he’s just watching her tiredly, with a sad sort of look on his face. 

“Colleen, I… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. For all of the shit you’ve been put through these past several weeks. I never meant to drag you back into the fighting, and everything with Davos…” he trails off, looking down at his hands, now. “And I wanted to thank you, also, for sticking with me despite all of this. Most people wouldn’t have.” 

“It was bound to happen, Danny. Like I said, it’s just part of our lives. I don’t want to be out doing what you do, but the fighting, sometimes? There’s no avoiding that, whether I like it or not, that’s part of my life. It’s always going to be.” Colleen replies slowly. Part of her has missed the fighting, missed picking up her katana, but she hasn’t missed all of the bloodshed, all of the death. She’s coming to terms with the fact that it is part of her life though, that she can’t avoid it forever, all of the time. “And of course I’d stick with you.” 

“Between that and  _ me _ … I have really been pushing the limits of our relationship, and I’m sorry for that, too. I want to be better, to do better, I  _ really _ do.” he looks up at her again, tired and earnest. “If you’ll give me that chance.” 

Colleen shifts so she’s sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching out and grabbing one of his hands, holding it in her own. “Danny, we have been through worse things than this. And I’m not saying that any of this was okay, because it wasn’t. I don’t think either of us have been our best selves recently. Over a year ago you forgave me for worse, and who would I be if I refused to do the same for you, if I couldn’t give you another chance?” 

He reaches out with his free hand to cup her face again, and she shuts her eyes for a moment, leaning into his touch. “I love you,  _ so much _ , and I don’t think that I’ve made that very clear, recently. I’m sorry,” he says, again. 

“Hey… I care about you far too much to let this ruin us, okay? Shit happened, a lot of it wasn’t good, wasn’t okay. And we  _ are _ going to have to figure that out. But I’m not leaving you, because of those things. That’s not what we do.” 

“Do you remember what I told you a while back, about wishing that we were past all of this already, all of the hurt? I don’t know, just… maybe we are now. Davos won’t be a problem again, and the gangs aren’t either. And… I’m going to step back from the vigilante life for a while, too. Take time to rest, heal, to focus on  _ us _ .” 

“I remember. God, that feels like a lifetime ago.” she shakes her head, tightens her grip on his hand. “And I think that that is a very good idea. You need rest, I need rest, and we have a…  _ lot _ to figure out.” she stands up, then, grabbing Danny’s other hand as she does.

She pulls at his hands lightly until he gets to his feet as well, before she drops his hands in favor of wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug, tucking her face against his shoulder. Immediately he’s got his arms wrapped around her, warm and secure,  _ comforting _ , and she feels him press a kiss to the top of her head before he rests his head against her’s. 

She isn’t sure how long they stand like that, doesn’t really care, because it’s the most relaxed and safe she’s felt in weeks. When she finally does pull back a little, she grabs his hand and lifts it up to place a kiss on the back of it before just letting her hands rest at his waist. 

“Are we okay?” he asks, his expression overwhelmingly that of love and tiredness all at once, a sad sort of combination that makes her just want to pull him into an embrace again. 

“We will be.” 


	2. two - danny pov

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> set six months later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one I just kind of wrote not necessarily a specific time after the first chapter, but in my head I've thought of it as (at least) six months later. To give them time to heal and work through things. This is the soft chapter. Danny pov.

Over the past months, he finally feels like he and Colleen have managed to step back into something  _ normal _ . Something  _ stable _ , more solid even than before. They had talked a lot about what had gone down, and how to be better going forward, with stronger communication being a key part of that. And they are better, now. Colleen is still working at the center, and Danny has continued his job as a mover, still staying out of Rand as much as possible, and he likes this. He leaves most mornings to work, and it’s work he enjoys with company he enjoys, and he’s home in the evenings for dinner and to spend time with Colleen. 

He’s only stepped out on occasion at night for any sort of vigilante activity, and only for very good reasons, which Colleen hasn’t had any issues with. He knows, eventually, that there’s a good chance he’ll pick up going out on a more regular schedule, but for now he’s content as he is. And it wouldn’t be anything like before. He’s promised himself that he’ll never let himself get so carried away in that again, didn’t like the person he was when he was so caught up in it. Because he likes who he is now - he likes the person he’s becoming, the person he is with and for Colleen, and he’s settled again with the iron fist. He feels  _ good _ . 

And over the past few months, if anything, he and Colleen have only become closer. Nothing feels strained anymore, like it did for the first several weeks after everything with Davos. It finally feels like they’re completely comfortable with each other again, more so even than before. It’s easier to talk about any concerns, and easier living in the same space. 

And over the past months, if anything, he and Colleen have only become closer than before. Nothing feels strained anymore, tense, like it had for the first weeks after everything with Davos. It finally feels like they’re completely comfortable with each other again, more so even than before. There’s still challenges, always will be, but it’s so much easier to talk about any concerns, and easier living in the same space. 

It’s a combination of all of these things that had led him to a realization the past few weeks that for some reason hadn’t perfectly  _ clicked  _ before. The realization that he really, truly loves her more than anything else, everything about her. The realization that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. 

“You’re distracted,” Albert says, passing him down another box and dragging Danny out of his thoughts.

“What?” 

Albert just gives him a  _ look _ , pausing what he’s doing to stare at Danny. “Don’t ‘what’ me. You’re distracted, have been all day. Hell, for the past  _ week _ .” he smirks. “And somethin’ tells me it has to do with your girl.” 

Danny laughs slightly, running a hand through his hair, before nodding. “Yeah, uhm… Colleen, yeah.” 

“What aren’t you telling me?” Albert asks as he passes down another box. 

“I’m going to propose,” he says, almost a little shakily,  _ nervous _ , something he’s not actually said out loud yet. “I have the ring, I just… haven’t had an opportunity to yet. I was thinking I might tonight.” He’s been  _ trying _ not to focus on it, because while he’s sure that this is what he wants to do, it’s still almost an unnerving sort of thing. He’s got no idea if Colleen would say yes, hopes she will, though he’d respect her decision either way. It’s just a  _ lot _ . 

“About damn time,” Albert laughs. “How long have you had that ring?” 

“A week.” he admits. 

“And you haven’t asked her yet? This is the last job for the night, as soon as we’re done here you better get your ass home and ask your girl to marry you.” 

Danny chuckles, grabbing another box. “Yeah, okay. I’ll do that.” 

“Good luck, Danny.” he pauses. “I expect to be invited to your wedding.” 

  
  


\---

 

He’s home later than normal due to complications finishing the last job, and he’d texted Colleen earlier to tell her not to wait for him for dinner. It’s still earlier in the evening, close to seven thirty, when he finally does get home. 

For the past few hours he's been unsure and worried, debating whether or not it's actually a good night to ask her.  _ It probably isn't _ , he thinks as he opens the door, taking in a steadying breath. Even as he walks into the apartment, he's still not sure if he's going to or not, no decision made despite having the whole day to think about it.  _ God, I suck at this _ . 

Colleen isn’t in the main room, or the bedroom, but he notices that the door to the deck is cracked open a bit. He takes a minute to breathe, toeing his shoes off and pulling the ring out of his pocket, where he's been keeping it for the past week instead of trying to find somewhere to hide it in the apartment. (not that his pocket was necessarily the best place for it, either) It’s a pretty ring, silver, with a simple sort of design on it. It’s not flashy or anything of the sort, nothing that would get in the way. (it had taken him way too long to pick out this particular one, but it had just seemed right).

He tucks it back in his pocket, still not sure, wondering if he ever will be.  _ Is this even a good idea? _

He opens up the door further and steps out onto the deck, where Colleen is sitting at the small table with headphones in and papers around her, working on something on the laptop, a common routine of her’s. She looks over at him as he walks further out onto the deck, tugging her headphones out. 

“There’s leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry,” she says, shuffling some of the papers together to start cleaning up a bit. 

“No, uh, we ate late today because we were a little behind schedule,” he replies. 

He’s not sure how to propose - he knows some people make it flashy and a big deal, but he knows Colleen would hate that. But tonight is just an ordinary Tuesday night, and he thinks that maybe something about that seems right. 

_ If I could just get my act together and ask _ , he thinks, mind still not made up. 

Colleen stands up, joining him at the railing and leaning against it as he turns to face her, trying to find the words he needs but still not quite sure how to say it all. How to put all the things he feels into words that make sense. Instead, she tugs him down into a brief, sweet kiss, smiling softly when she pulls back. He just watches her, feels a burst of affection surge through his chest as he does. 

“You’re distracted,” she says, resting a hand on his forearm and giving him a slightly concerned look. “You okay?” 

“That’s not the first time I’ve heard that today,” he says with a slight laugh, looking back towards the door. It’s wide open now, and he can see perfectly into the rest of the apartment,  _ home _ . And in that moment, looking back at Colleen, it  _ clicks _ for him, that maybe this is the perfect moment. At least, that maybe there never will be a perfect moment, not in their still often messy lives, and that there’s not a point in waiting. 

He thinks he should be more nervous, but it’s like most of the anxiety drains out of him as he meets her eyes again. 

“It’s funny, the first time I was here, you kicked me out. Now we live here together,” he starts, laughing a little, pulling the ring out of his pocket and tightening his hand around it, a movement that he doesn't think Colleen notices. 

“Yeah, you asked to  _ challenge my master _ , and at the time I just knew you as the odd homeless man I met in the park. Of course I kicked you out,” she says, but there’s a teasing look in her eyes that makes him smile. 

“Odd is definitely a fitting word.” he hesitates before pushing on. “You know, when I first got back to New York, everything was just… a mess. But in the park, talking to you… you looked like someone safe. And you  _ are _ . You’re home now. Even in all the chaos of my life, you have been the one constant, always here, despite everything that’s gone wrong.” 

Colleen takes his hand, thankfully the one that’s not holding the ring, holding it in both of hers. 

“I don’t know, I’ve just… I’ve always thought that I could trust people, and I’ve put way too much into them, given them too much, and it always went wrong. But you? I trust you, more than anyone, maybe the only person I’ve ever been able to fully trust. I’ve messed up a  _ lot _ , but you’ve always been here, by my side, no matter what happened.” 

“Danny, where are you going with this?” she looks a little confused, almost a little concerned, and he realizes that he’s nearly rambling now. 

“I just… I want to ask you something, and it’s important.” he hesitates, taking in another breath. “God, I’m an idiot, and maybe none of this is making any sense anymore but I just- I love you, Colleen, more than anyone. And I want to be right here, with you, for the rest of my life.” 

He sees the exact moment that it seems to hit her, where he’s going with this, the way she almost… pauses, hesitates, and she looks somehow unsure but also loving all at the same time, tightening her grip on his hand, and he finds that for a second it’s hard to look her in the eye, because  _ maybe i messed up maybe this is a horrible idea what the hell was i  _ thinking. 

_ i can’t go back now _

He lifts his other hand, holds the ring up, doesn’t quite look at her as he takes another shaky breath. “I mean it, Colleen. Every word. I’m never going to find  _ you _ again, feel like this again. God, I just, I love you  _ so much _ -” 

She looks like she might be on the verge of crying, now, that’s the first thing he notices when he looks at her again, and he thinks he might be, too. Slowly he steps back just a little, and slowly one knee hits the ground, and he’s looking up at her now and feeling all sorts of things he can’t even begin to describe, taking comfort in the fact that she’s still got her hands wrapped around his. 

“So,” he starts, trying to keep his hand from shaking, “Colleen Wing - will you marry me? If you want to, I mean, I just-” 

He’s not quite sure what happens next for a moment, but suddenly her arms are around his neck and she’s near crushing him with the force of her hug. He laughs slightly, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face against her neck. He’s not really sure who kisses who first, but she’s smiling into the kiss and laughing a little as their noses bump together because it’s not the best angle, but for a long moment he’s lost in the rush of feeling. 

“Hey, you haven’t answered me yet,” he points out, leaning his forehead against her’s before she pulls back, and he takes the opportunity to wipe a stray tear from her cheek, realizes that he’s crying a little as well. She gives him a look that clearly says  _ you’re an idiot _ but in the fond sort of way. 

“Yes.” She smiles again, pulling him back in for another kiss that leaves him momentarily breathless, completely overwhelmed by the fact that this is real and happening and that she said  _ yes _ . 

When she pulls back, he gently takes her left hand in his and and slides the ring on, before bringing her hand up to press a kiss to it. It’s dark out, and the only light is the warm light pouring in from the door and the ones they’d hung up around the deck, and she’s in sweatpants and he’s got dust all over his clothes… but she’s leaned her head back against his shoulder again, now, and the whole moment feels  _ perfect _ . 

An ordinary Tuesday night was the best night he could’ve picked, he decides, pressing a kiss against the side of her head. And he knows they should get up, probably, or talk - but then she’s tugging him in for another kiss and for now he’s perfectly content to stay out here, exactly like this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really wanted a proposal because I have such a huge weakness for Danny and Colleen and them being married (and having a family), in case that wasn't clear yet. Just ignore the fact that I cannot, actually, write a proposal well. That's life though. This is the ending we should have gotten!
> 
> Okay - season 2 wrecked me, I sort of hate it, but I am ready to write a lot of things. SO: 
> 
> Prompt me stuff! Would you guys want me to start another one shot type collection for these two, set after my ending of season 2? Or possibly some sort of multichapter thing if anyone has plot ideas 'cause I don't? 
> 
> Or prompt me canon-acknowledging prompts! I like making people sad, and will consider writing some that actually are in line with season 2 canon. 
> 
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> This is what I wanted, and we did not get this. I had such low expectations going into this season and I was still disappointed. Incredible. 
> 
> So anyway I'm throwing around the idea of doing a sort of multichapter/collection of one shots for Danny and Colleen post my ending of season 2, if anyone wants that, or has prompts. Or has prompts that don't ignore canon so I can make everyone sad, I might be up for doing that too.


End file.
